Chapter 443: Before Departure

When Li Luo returned to his dorm room, he immediately took out the "Small Formless Divine Wheel"; back in the Cultivation Pavilion, with Instructor Xi Chan and Yu Yu Hongxi present, he hadn't dared to examine it closely, and though he had developed some trust in them, the secret of his third Acquired phase must be kept from as many outsiders as possible.

The newly forged "Small Formless Divine Wheel" had a slightly triangular shape, its surface covered in intricate, ancient faint patterns that seemed to form a mysterious array, enveloping the divine wheel.

Previously, the Small Formless Divine Wheel had over a hundred apertures for placing numerous materials, but this time it was far simpler, bearing only two hexagonal recesses encircled by countless mysterious patterns.

Clearly, these two recesses were meant for placing one primary and one auxiliary phase material.

Yet these materials were far rarer and more expensive than those used before.

If the previous cultivation of an Acquired phase relied on quantity, this time it required high-quality purity.

Based on Li Luo's current sensing of the divine wheel, he suspected he'd need marquis-grade materials.

"Marquis-grade materials..."

Li Luo frowned in thought, then sighed helplessly; such materials would be nearly impossible to find even at the Great Xia Golden Dragon Treasure House's headquarters, and their price would surely be astronomical.

But fortunately, he only needed two—had he required hundreds like last time, even selling the Luo Lan Mansion wouldn't have sufficed.

Yet even two wouldn't be easy to acquire in a short while.

Still, this wasn't urgent, since the third phase required the Rank of Paying General; though he'd now reached the final stage of the Phase Master realm, he still had a long way to go before breaking through to Paying General.

Li Luo stroked the divine wheel, then waved his hand and stored it in his spatial sphere; for now, he needed time to carefully consider how to configure his third phase.

Li Luo took out paper and pen and drew three circles: the first bore the characters "Water Light," the second "Wood Earth."

These were his two current phases.

In a sense, Li Luo's dual phases both leaned toward support and control; though his unique primary-auxiliary synergy enhanced the power of his phase arts, he had to admit that purely in terms of offensive capability, Water Light and Wood Earth were slightly weaker.

Of course, from other angles, they were sufficient to compensate for this gap.

Had he been free to choose initially, he likely wouldn't have selected these phases—but he had no choice; Water and Wood were chosen to protect his body, minimizing the aftereffects of the Acquired phase entering his system.

Previously, this was necessary because Li Luo's foundation was too weak, forcing him to mitigate aftereffects this way; but by the time he filled his third phase palace, he would have reached Paying General—a realm that, at least, was truly entering the hall.

Thus, his choice for the third phase could now be far freer.

Li Luo tapped the table; phases leaning toward support were no longer worth considering.

He gripped his pen and wrote two characters in the third circle.

"Offense."

This would be the direction of his third phase—whether Fire, Metal, Thunder, or even myriad beast phases, all lay within his options.

The final choice would depend entirely on what corresponding materials he could obtain.

Perhaps the Holy Cup War would offer some excellent rewards.

The next day, Jiang Jiang Qinge arrived at the academy and came to visit.

"Is your forging going smoothly?"

They strolled beside the lake; Jiang Jiang Qinge's figure was tall and elegant, her long legs beneath her battle skirt dazzlingly fair, and as she walked, she inquired about yesterday's forging—Li Luo had told her when inviting Yu Yu Hongxi and Instructor Xi Chan.

Li Luo glanced at the lake water, where Jiang Jiang Qinge's long legs were reflected clearly, then looked at the real legs beside him, mentally judging which was whiter and longer, yet his mouth didn't pause as he recounted everything that had happened yesterday.

Including the "Fish Demon Curse" on Instructor Xi Chan; though this information was secret, Li Luo trusted Jiang Jiang Qinge to keep it silent.

"I think Shen Shen Jinxiao is behind this, though I have no proof," Li Luo shrugged.

"His presence there at that time naturally raises suspicion," Jiang Jiang Qinge made no secret of her disdain for Shen Shen Jinxiao.

"I never expected the Dark Caverns had once seen such a massive purge... and that even Master and Mistress took part."

But soon her attention shifted elsewhere: "If Instructor Xi Chan and Shen Shen Jinxiao have such deep enmity, it's good for us—when the time comes to send him on his way, we'll have one more ally."

Li Luo nodded with a smile; had anyone overheard their conversation, their faces would've turned white—these two were too reckless, openly plotting in the academy how to send a Purple Radiance instructor to his doom...

Jiang Jiang Qinge took a box from her spatial sphere and handed it to Li Luo: "This is a batch of Spirit Water Miracle Light purchased for you by Cai Wei—both seventh and fifth rank."

Li Luo quickly took it; this Spirit Water Miracle Light arrived just in time—his Water Light phase had barely improved, still stuck at lower seventh rank, still far from upper seventh, but his fifth-rank Wood Earth phase had advanced rapidly; by his estimate, it might evolve to sixth rank before the Holy Cup War began, undoubtedly boosting his strength further.

"The academy will likely organize the competitors to depart tomorrow; reportedly, we'll use the Phase Power Tree for teleportation, so we'll be away from Great Xia for a while—I've arranged all matters in Luo Lan Mansion; with Cai Wei there, there's no need to worry, and regarding safety, after Yuan Qing returned, Manager Pei Hao will behave himself for a while," Jiang Jiang Qinge said.

Li Luo nodded; with Jiang Jiang Qinge around, Luo Lan Mansion saved him countless worries.

"Li Luo..."

Li Luo turned his head and saw Jiang Jiang Qinge gazing at the mirror-like lake, her golden eyes reflecting the water's shimmer.

"By the time the Holy Cup War ends, you'll have been at the Sacred Zhu Xuan Star Academy for nearly a year..."

"Mm." Li Luo nodded.

"Time is coming."

Jiang Jiang Qinge tilted her head slightly, her gaze fixed on Li Luo, a faint smile touching her lips.

"Are you ready?"

Li Luo understood what she meant—after the Holy Cup War, come early next year... it would be the Luo Lan Mansion's ancestral rite.

At that moment, all long-suppressed sparks would erupt completely.

Luo Lan Mansion would face its decisive moment.

Meeting Jiang Jiang Qinge's gaze, Li Luo's face also broke into a smile, and he slowly nodded.

"Whoever wants to destroy Luo Lan Mansion, I will..."

"Kill him."